Hootsma
Lil-Rokslider
I've used Gaia on my iPhone 4s and it has worked well, but it's a tradeoff. I like having a multipurpose unit - iPhone = camera, gps, clock, hammock hang calculator, entertainment (music, book on tape...). With a gps, all you get is a gps. The resolution and screen size on the iPhone when viewing aerials is far superior to my 62s as well. I guess some have cameras, but my 62S does not. But, the problem with my iPhone is battery life. All those extra features tend to drain the battery pretty quickly, and so does the cold. I've found that my phone, when set in airplane mode and all of the background apps are shut down and the phone kept warm, uses about 6 - 10% per day, strictly in standby mode. How many days afield you get out of one battery depends on your usage. I've found, for me, that number is around 2 days or less. So, I need a battery pack to get buy. And that's where the tradeoff occurs. I have a New Trent iTorch (4.5 ounces). Which is a 5,200 mAh battery. Theoretically, I should get 3.5+ charges out of it (5,200/1,430 = 3.63 charges). But, due to inefficiencies and losses, I get about 1.8 charges out of it. That's not going to cut it for more than a 4 or 5 day trip. That means a bigger (ie heavier battery). Jumping up to a +/-10,000 mAh puts me in the 10 - 12 ounce range. This will give me around 4 charges, which would be plenty for a 8-10 day trip, but the weight penalty is too much when compared to the alternative. I can substitute my Garmin 62S with a spare set of lithium AA batteries for the battery pack and come in at 8 ounces. The spare batteries can be used for my headlamp as well as the gps and now I have 2 gps (one as a backup). This made more sense to me as a backpack hunter. If, I were doing a spike camp or similar setup, I'd bring the battery pack and gps.
Last year, I brought only the iPhone and iTorch for a 7 day trip. And, if I didn't have others in my group who took care of the morning alarm, so that I could keep my phone off at night, I never would have made it through the trip. Getting back to camp in the dark without a gps to guide me, would have been pretty difficult.
An interesting feature of the Garmin 62s, is you can set an alarm on it, and then turn the unit completely off. And when the alarm time arrives, the unit automatically turns itself on and sounds the alarm. So, no wasted batteries to have an alarm. I don't wear a watch anymore, so this is an issue for me.
Last year, I brought only the iPhone and iTorch for a 7 day trip. And, if I didn't have others in my group who took care of the morning alarm, so that I could keep my phone off at night, I never would have made it through the trip. Getting back to camp in the dark without a gps to guide me, would have been pretty difficult.
An interesting feature of the Garmin 62s, is you can set an alarm on it, and then turn the unit completely off. And when the alarm time arrives, the unit automatically turns itself on and sounds the alarm. So, no wasted batteries to have an alarm. I don't wear a watch anymore, so this is an issue for me.